Constitution

on

Divine

Revelation

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Constitution

on Divine Revelation

This booklet is the text of an English translation relayed from Vatican

City to the Press Department of the National Catholic Welfare Con-

ference, Washington, D.C.

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
BY OUR SUNDAY VISITOR INC.
HUNTINGTON, INDIANA 46750

605



;
/•



Constitution

on Divine Revelation

following is the text of an English translation of the ‘‘Con-

* stitution on Divine Revelation/* promulgated by Pope

Paul VI on Nov. 18, 1965.

PREFACE

1. Hearing the word of God

with reverence and proclaiming

it with faith, the sacred synod

takes its direction from these

words of St. John: “We an-

nounce to you the eternal life

which dwelt with the Father

and was made visible to us.

What we have seen and heard

we announce to you, so that

you may have fellowship with

us and our common fellowship

be with the Father and His Son

Jesus Christ” (I John 1:2-3).

Therefore, following in the

footsteps of the Council of

Trent and of the First Vatican

Council, this present council

wishes to set forth authentic

doctrine on divine revelation

and how it is handed on, so

that by hearing the message of

salvation the whole world may

believe, by believing it may

hope, and by hoping it may

love.

CHAPTER ONE

Revelation Itself

2. In His goodness and wis-

dom God chose to reveal Him-
self and to make known to us

the hidden purpose of His will

(see Eph. 1:9) by which

through Christ, the Word made

flesh, man might in the Holy
Spirit have access to the Father

and come to share in the divine

nature (see Eph. 2:18, 2 Peter

3



1:4). Through this revelation,

therefore, the invisible God

(see Col. 1:15; 1 Tim. 1:17) out

of the abundance of His love

speaks to men as friends (see
Ex. 33:11; John 15:14-15) and

lives among them (see Bar. 3:

38), so that He may invite and
take them into fellowship with

Himself. This plan of revela-

tion is realized by deeds and

words having an inner unity:

the deeds wrought by God in

the history of salvation mani-

fest and confirm the teaching

and realities signified by the

words, while the words pro-

claim the deeds and clarify the

mystery contained in them. By

this revelation then, the deep-

est truth about God and the

salvation of man shines out for
our sake in Christ, who is both

the mediator and the fulness of

all revelation.

3. God, who through the

Word creates all things (see

John, 1:3) and keeps them in

existence, gives men an endur-

ing witness to Himself in creat-

ed realities (see Rom. 1:19-20).

Planning to make known the

way of heavenly salvation, He

went further and from the start

manifested Himself to our first

parents. Then after their fall

His promise of redemption

aroused in them the hope of

being saved (see Gen. 3:15) and

from that time on He ceaseless-

ly kept the human race in His

care, to give eternal life to

those who perseveringly do

good in search of salvation (see

Rom. 2:6-7). Then, at the time

He had appointed He called

Abraham in order to make of

him a great nation (see Gen.

12:2). Through the patriarchs,

and after them through Moses

and the prophets. He taught

this people to acknowledge

Himself the one living and true

God, provident father and just

judge, and to wait for the Sav-

ior promised by Him, and in

this manner prepared the way

for the Gospel down through

the centuries.

4. Then, after speaking in

many and varied ways through

the prophets, “now at last in

these days God has spoken to

us in His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2). For

He sent His Son, the eternal

Word, who enlightens all men.

so that He might dwell among

men and tell them of the in-

nermost being of God (see John

1:1-18). Jesus Christ, therefore,

the Word made flesh, was sent

as “a man to men.” He “speaks

the words of God” (John 3:34),

and completes the work of sal-

vation which His Father gave

Him to do (see John 5:36, 17:4).

To see Jesus is to see His Fa-

ther (John 14:9). For this rea-

son Jesus perfected revelation

by fulfilling it through His

whole work of making Himself

present and manifesting Him-

self: through His words and

deeds. His signs and wonders,

but especially through His

death and glorious resurrection

from the dead and final send-

ing of the Spirit of truth. More-

4



over He confirmed with divine

testimony what revelation pro-

claimed, that God is with us to

free us from the darkness of

sin and death, and to raise us

up to life eternal.

The Christian dispensation,

therefore, as the new and defin-

itive covenant, will never pass

away and we now await no fur-

ther new public revelation be-

fore the glorious manifestation

of our Lord Jesus Christ (see I

Tim. 6:14 and Titus 2:13).

5.

“The obedience of faith”

(Rom. 13:26; see 1:5; 2 Cor. 10:

5-6) “is to be given to God who

reveals, an obedience by which

man commits his whole self
freely to God, offering the full

submission of intellect and will

to God who reveals,” and freely

assenting to the truth revealed

by Him. To make this act of

faith, the grace of God and the

interior help of the Holy Spirit

must precede and assist, mov-

ing the heart and turning it to

God, opening the eyes of the

mind and giving “joy and ease

to everyone in assenting to the

truth and believing it.” To

bring about an ever deeper

understanding of revelation the

same Holy Spirit constantly

brings faith to completion by

His gifts.

6.

Through divine revelation,

God chose to show forth and

communicate Himself and the

eternal decisions of His will re-

garding the salvation of men.

That is to say. He chose to

share with them those divine

treasures which totally trans-

cend the understanding of the

human mind.

As a sacred synod has af-

firmed, God, the beginning and

end of all things, can be known

with certainty from created re-

ality by the light of human

reason (see Rom. 1:20); but

teaches that it is through His

revelation that those religious

truths which are by their na-

ture accessible to human rea-

son can be known by all men

with ease, with solid certi-

tude and with no trace of error,

even in this present state of the

human race.

CHAPTER TWO

Handing on Divine Revelation

7.

In His gracious goodness,

God has seen to it that what He
had revealed for the salvation

of all nations would abide

perpetually in its full integrity

and be handed on to all gen-

erations. Therefore Christ the

Lord in whom the full revela-
tion of the supreme God is

brought to completion (see

5



Cor. 1:20; 3:13; 4:6), commis-

sioned the Apostles to preach

to all men that Gospel which is
the source of all saving truth

and moral teaching, and to im-

part to them heavenly gifts.

This Gospel had been promised

in former times through the

prophets, and Christ Himself

had fulfilled it and promulgat-

ed it with His lips. This com-

mission was faithfully fulfilled

by the Apostles who, by their

oral preaching, by example,

and by observances handed on

what they had received from

the lips of Christ, from living

with Him, and from what He

did, or what they had learned

through the prompting of the

Holy Spirit. The commission

was fulfilled, too, by those

Apostles and apostolic men
who under the inspiration of

the same Holy Spirit committed

the message of salvation to

writing.

But in order to keep the Gos-

pel forever whole and alive

within the Church, the Apostles

left bishops as their succes-

sors, “handing over” to them

“the authority to teach in their

own place.” This sacred tradi-

tion, therefore, and Sacred

Scripture of both the Old and

New Testaments are like a mir-
ror in which the pilgrim Church

on earth looks at God, from

whom she has received every-
thing, until she is brought fi-

nally to see Him as He is, face

to face (see I John 3:2).

8. And so the apostolic

preaching, which is expressed

in a special way in the inspired

books, was to be preserved by

an unending succession of

preachers until the end of time.

Therefore the Apostles, hand-

ing on what they themselves

had received, warn the faithful

to hold fast to the traditions

which they have learned either

bv word of mouth or by letter

(see 2 Thess. 2:15), and to fight

in defense of the faith handed

on once and for all (see Jud.

3). Now what was handed on
by the Apostles includes every-

thing which contributes toward

the holiness of life and increase

in faith of the people of God;

and so the Church, in her teach-

ing, life and worship, perpetu-

ates and hands on to all gen-

erations all that she herself is,

all that she believes.

This tradition which comes

from the Apostles develops in

the Church with the help of the

Holy Spirit. For there is a

growth in the understanding of

the realities and the words

which have been handed down.

This happens through the con-

templation and study made by

believers, who treasure these

things in their hearts (see Luke,

2:19, 51) through a penetrat-

ing understanding of the spir-

itual realities which they ex-

perience, and through the

preaching of those who have

received through episcopal suc-

cession the sure gift of truth.

For as the centuries succeed

one another, the Church con-

6



stantly moves forward toward

the fulness of divine truth un-

til the words of God reach their

complete fulfillment in her.

The words of the holy fa-

thers witness to the presence of

this living tradition, whose

wealth is poured into the prac-

tice and life of the believing

and praying Church. Through

the same tradition the Church’s

full canon of the sacred books

is known, and the sacred writ-

ings themselves are more pro-

foundly understood and un-

ceasingly made active in her;

and thus God, who spoke of
old, uninterruptedly converses

with the bride of His beloved

Son; and the Holy Spirit,

through whom the living voice
of the Gospel resounds in the

Church, and through her, in the

world, leads unto all truth

those who believe and makes
the word of Christ dwell

abundantly in them (see Col.

3:16).

9. Hence there exists a close

connection and communication

between sacred tradition and

sacred Scripture. For both of

them, flowing from the same

divine wellspring, in a certain

way merge into a unity and

tend toward the same end. For

Sacred Scripture is the word

of God inasmuch as it is con-

signed to writing under the in-

spiration of the divine Spirit,

while sacred tradition takes the

word of God entrusted by

Christ the Lord and the Holy

Spirit to the Apostles, and

hands it on to their successors

in its full purity, so that led

by the light of the Spirit of

truth, they may in proclaiming

it preserve this word of God

faithfully, explain it, and make

it more widely known. Conse-

quently it is not from Sacred

Scripture alone that the Church

draws her certainty about ev-

erything which has been re-

vealed. Therefore both sacred

tradition and Sacred Scripture

are to be accepted and vener-

ated with the same sense of

loyalty and reverence.

10. Sacred tradition and sa-

cred Scripture form one sacred

deposit of the word of God,

committed to the Church.

Holding fast to this deposit the

entire holy people united with

their shepherds remain always

steadfast in the teaching of the

Apostles, in the common life,

in the breaking of the bread

and in prayers (see Acts 2, 42,

Greek text), so that holding to,

practicing and professing the

heritage of the faith, it becomes

on the part of the bishops and

faithful a single common ef-

fort.

But the task of authentically

interpreting the word of God,

whether written or handed on,

has been entrusted exclusively

to the living teaching office of

the Church, whose authority is

exercised in the name of Jesus

Christ. This teaching office is

not above the word of God, but

serves it, teaching only what

7



has been handed on, listening

to it devoutly, guarding it

scrupulously and explaining it

faithfully in accord with a di-

vine commission and with the

help of the Holy Spirit; it

draws from this one deposit of

faith everything which it pre-

sents for belief as divinely re-

vealed.

It is clear, therefore, that sa-

cred tradition, sacred Scripture

and the teaching authority of

the Church, in accord with

God’s most wise design, are so

linked and joined together that

one cannot stand without the

others, and that all together

and each in its own way under
the action of the one Holy

Spirit contribute effectively to

the salvation of souls.

CHAPTER THREE

Sacred Scripture, Its Inspiring

and Divine Interpretation

11. Those divinely revealed

realities which are contained

and presented in sacred Scrip-

ture have been committed to

writing under the inspiration

of the Holy Spirit. For holy

mother Church, relying on the

belief of the Apostles (see

John, 20:31; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2

Peter 1:19-20, 3:15-16), holds

that the books of both the Old

and New Testaments in their
entirety, with all their parts, are

sacred and canonical because

written under the inspiration

of the Holy Spirit, they have

God as their author and have

been handed on as such to the

Church herself. In composing

the sacred books, God chose

men and while employed by

Him they made use of their
powers and abilities, so that

with Him acting in them and
through them, they, as true

authors, consigned to writing

everything and only those

things which He wanted.

Therefore since everything

asserted by the inspired au-

thors or sacred writers must be

held to be asserted by the Holy

Spirit, it follows that the books

of Scripture must be acknowl-

edged as teaching solidly, faith-

fully and without error that

truth which God wanted put

into the sacred writings for the

sake of our salvation. There-

fore “all Scripture is divinely

inspired and has its use for

teaching the truth and refuting

8



error, for reformation of man-

ners and discipline in right liv-

ing, so that the man who be-

longs to God may be efficient

and equipped for good work of

every kind” (2 Tim. 3:16-17,

Greek text).

12. However, since God

speaks in sacred Scripture

through men in human fashion,

the interpreter of sacred Scrip-

ture, in order to see clearly

what God wanted to communi-

cate to us, should carefully in-

vestigate what meaning the sa-

cred writers really intended,

and what God wanted to mani-

fest by means of their words.

To search out the intention of

the sacred writers, attention

should be given, among other

things, to “literary forms.” For

truth is set forth and expressed

differently in texts which are

variously historical, prophetic,

poetic, or of other forms of dis-

course. The interpreter must

investigate what meaning the

sacred writer intended to ex-

press and actually expressed in

particular circumstances by

using contemporary literary

forms in accordance with the

situation of his own time and

culture. For the correct under-

standing of what the sacred au-

thor wanted to assert, due at-

tention must be paid to the

customary and characteristic

styles of feeling, speaking and

narrating which prevailed at

the time of the sacred writer,

and to the patterns men nor-
mally employed at that period

in their everyday dealings with

one another.

But, since holy Scripture

must be read and interpreted in

the same spirit in which it was

written, no less serious atten-

tion must be given to the con-

tent and unity of the whole of

Scripture if the meaning of the

sacred texts is to be correctly

worked out. The living tradi-

tion of the whole Church must

be taken into account along

with the harmony which exists

between elements of the faith.

It is the task of exegetes to

work accojrding to these rules

toward a better understanding

and explanation of the meaning

of sacred Scripture, so that

through preparatory study the

judgment of the Church may
mature. For all of what has

been said about the way of in-

terpreting Scripture is subject

finally to the judgment of the

Church, which carries out the

divine commission and ministry

of guarding and interpreting

the word of God.

13. In sacred Scripture,
therefore, while the truth and

holiness of God always remains

intact, the marvelous “conde-

scension” of eternal wisdom is

clearly shown, “that we may
learn the gentle kindness of

God, which words cannot ex-

press, and how far He has gone

in adapting His language with

thoughtful concern for our

weak human nature.” For the

words of God, expressed in hu-

9



man language, have been made
like human discourse, just as

the word of the eternal Father,

when He took to Himself the

flesh of human weakness, was

in every way made like men.

CHAPTER FOUR

The Old Testament

14. In carefully planning

and preparing the salvation of

the whole human race the God
of infinite love, by a special

dispensation, chose for Himself

a people to whom He would en-
trust His promises. First He en-

tered into a covenant with

Abraham (see Gen. 15:18) and,

through Moses, with the people

of Israel (see Ex. 24:8). To this

people which He had acquired

for Himself, He so manifested

Himself through words and

deeds as the one true and liv-

ing God that Israel came to

know by experience the ways

of God with men. Then, too,

when God Himself spoke to

them through the mouth of the

prophets, Israel daily gained a

deeper and clearer understand-

ing of His ways and made them

more widely known among the

nations (see Ps. 21:29; 95:1-3;

Is. 2:1-5; Jer. 3:17). The plan

of salvation foretold by the sa-

cred authors, recounted and ex-

plained by them, is found as the

true word of God in the books

of the Old Testament: these

books, therefore, written under

divine inspiration, remain per-

manently valuable. “For all

that was written for our in-

struction, so that by steadfast-

ness and the encouragement of

the Scriptures we might have

hope” (Rom. 15:4).

15. The principal purpose to

which the plan of the old cove-

nant was directed was to pre-

pare for the coming of Christ,

the redeemer of all and of the

messianic kingdom, to ^nnounce

this coming by prophecy (see

Luke 24:44, John 5:39; 1 Peter

1:10), and to indicate its mean-

ing through various types (see

I Cor. 10:12). Now the books
of the Old Testament, in accord-

ance with the state of mankind

before the time of salvation es-

tablished by Christ, reveal to

all men the knowledge of God
and of man and the ways in
which God, just and merciful,

deals with men. These books,

though they also contain some

things which are incomplete

and temporary, nevertheless

show us true divine pedagogy.

These same books, then, give

expression to a lively sense of

10



God, contain a store of sublime

teachings about God, sound

wisdom about human life, and a

wonderful treasury of prayers,

and in them the mystery of our

salvation is present in a hidden

way. Christians should receive

them with reverence.

16.

God, the inspirer and

author of both Testaments,

wisely arranged that the New
Testament be hidden in the Old

and the Old be made manifest

in the New. For, though Christ

established the new covenant

in His blood (see Luke 22:20;

1 Cor. 11:25), still the books

of the Old Testament with all

their parts, caught up into the

proclamation of the Gospel, ac-

quire and show forth their full

meaning in the New Testament
(see Matt. 5:17; Luke 24:27;

Rom. 16:25-26; 2 Cor. 14:16)

and in turn shed light on it and

explain it.

CHAPTER FIVE

The New Testament

17.

The word of God, which

is the power of God for the sal-

vation of all who believe (see

Rom. 1:16), is set forth and

shows its power in a most ex-

cellent way in the writings of

the New Testament. For when
the fulness of time arrived (see

Gal. 4:4), the Word was made

flesh and dwelt among us in His

fulness of graces and truth (see

John 1:14). Christ established

the kingdom of God on earth,

manifested His Father and Him-

self by deeds and words, and

completed His work by His

death, resurrection and glorious

Ascension and by the sending of

the Holy Spirit. Having been

lifted up from the earth. He

draws all men to Himself (see
John 12:32, Greek text). He

who alone has the words of

eternal life (see John 6:68).

This mystery had not been

manifested to other generations

as it was now revealed to His

holy Apostles and prophets in

the Holy Spirit (see Eph. 3:4-6,

Greek text), so that they might

preach the Gospel, stir up faith

in Jesus, Christ and Lord, and

gather together the Church. Now
the writings of the New Testa-
ment stand as a perpetual and

divine witness to these reali-

ties.

18.

It is common knowledge

that among all the Scriptures,

even those of the New Testa-

11



ment, the Gospels have a spe-

cial preeminence, and rightly

so, for they are the principal

witness for the life and teach-

ing of the incarnate Word, our

savior.

The Church has always and

everywhere held and continues

to hold that the four Gospels

are of apostolic origin. For

what the Apostles preached in

fulfillment of the commission

of Christ, afterwards they

themselves and apostolic men,

under the inspiration of the di-

vine Spirit, handed on to us in

writing: the foundation of faith,

namely, the fourfold Gospel, ac-

cording to Matthew, Mark, Luke

and John.

19. Holy Mother Church has

firmly and with absolute con-

stancy held, and continues to

hold, that the four Gospels just

named, whose historical charac-

ter the Church unhesitatingly

asserts, faithfully hand on what

Jesus Christ, while living among

men, really did and taught for

their eternal salvation until the

day He was taken up into heav-

en (see Acts 1:1). Indeed, after

the ascension of the Lord the

Apostles handed on to their

hearers what He had said and

done. This they did with that

clearer understanding which

they enjoyed after they had

been instructed by the glori-

ous events of Christ’s life and

taught by the light of the Spirit

of truth. The sacred authors

wrote the four Gospels, select-

ing some things from the many

which had been handed on by

word of mouth or in writing,

reducing some of them to a syn-

thesis, explaining some things

in view of the situation of their

churches, and preserving the

form of proclamation but al-

ways in such fashion that they

told us the honest truth about

Jesus. For their intention in

writing was that either from

their own memory and recol-

lections, or from the witness of

those who “themselves from the

beginning were eye-witnesses

and ministers of the Word” we

might know “the truth” con-

cerning those matters about

which we have been instruct-

ed (see Luke 1:2-4).

20. Besides the four Gospels,

the canon of the New Testament
also contains the epistles of St.

Paul and other apostolic writ-

ings, composed under the inspi-

ration of the Holy Spirit, by

which according to the wise

plan of God, those matters

which concern Christ the Lord

are confirmed. His true teaching

is more and more fully stated,

the saving power of the divine

work of Christ is preached, the

story is told of the beginnings

of the Church and its marvelous

growth, and its glorious fulfill-

ment is foretold.

For the Lord Jesus was with

His apostles as He had promised

(see Matt. 28:20) and sent them

the advocate Spirit who would

lead them into the fulness of

truth (see John 16:13).

12



CHAPTER SIX

Sacred Scripture

in the Life of the Church
21.

The Church has always

venerated the divine Scriptures

just as she venerates the body

of the Lord, since, especially in

the sacred liturgy, she unceas-

ingly receives and offers to

the faithful the bread of life

from the table both of God’s

word and of Christ’s body. She

has always maintained them,

and continues to do so, together

with sacred tradition, as the

supreme rule of faith, since, as

inspired by God and committed

once and for all to writing,

they impart the word of God

Himself without change, and

make the voice of the Holy Spir-

it resound in the words of the

prophets and Apostles. There-

fore, like the Christian religion

itself, all the preaching of the

Church must be nourished and

regulated by sacred Scripture.

For in the sacred books, the Fa-

ther who is in heaven meets His

children with great love and

speaks with them; and the force

and power in the word of God

is so great that it stands as the

support and energy of the

Church, the strength of faith

for her sons, the food of the

soul, the pure and everlasting

source of spiritual life. Conse-

quently these words are per-

fectly applicable to sacred

Scripture: “For the word of

God is living and active” (Heb.

4:12) and “it has power to

build you up and give you your

heritage among all those who

are sanctified” (Acts 20:32; see

I Thess. 2:13).

22. Easy access to sacred

Scripture should be provided

for all the Christian faithful.

That is why the Church from
the very beginning accepted as

her own that very ancient

Greek translation of the Old

Testament which is called the

septuagint; and she has always

given a place of honor to other

Eastern translations and Latin

ones, especially the Latin trans-

lation known as the vulgate. But

since the word of God should be

accessible at all times, the

Church by her authority and

with maternal concern sees to it

that suitable and correct trans-

lations are made into different

languages, especially from the

original texts of the sacred

books. And should the opportu-

nity arise and the Church au-

thorities approve, if these

translations are produced in co-

operation with the separated

brethren as well, all Christians

will be able to use them.

23. The bride of the incarnate

Word, the Church taught by the

13



Holy Spirit, is concerned to

move ahead toward a deeper

understanding of the sacred

Scriptures so that she may in-

creasingly feed her sons with

the divine words. Therefore, she

also encourages the study of the

holy Fathers of both East and

West and of sacred liturgies.

Catholic exegetes then and oth-

er students of sacred theolo-

gy, working diligently together

and using appropriate means,

should devote their energies,

under the watchful care of the

sacred teaching office of the

Church, to an exploration and

exposition of the divine writ-

ings. This should be so done

that as many ministers of the
divine word as possible will be

able effectively to provide the

nourishment of the Scriptures

for the people of God, to en-

lighten their minds, strengthen

their wills, and set men’s hearts

on fire with the love of God.

The sacred synod encourages

the sons of the Church and Bib-

lical scholars to continue ener-

getically, following the mind of

the Church, with the work they

have so well begun, with a con-

stant renewal of vigor.

24. Sacred theology rests on

the written word of God, to-

gether with sacred tradition, as

its primary and perpetual foun-

dation. By scrutinizing in the
light of faith all truth stored

up in the mystery of Christ,

theology is most powerfully

strengthened and constantly re-

juvenated by that word. For the

sacred Scriptures contain the

word of Gk)d and since they are

inspired really are the word of

God; and so the study of the sa-

cred page is, as it were, the soul

of sacred theology. By the same

word of Scripture the ministry

of the word also, that is, pasto-

ral preaching, catechetics and

all Christian instruction, in

which the liturgical homily

must hold the foremost place, is

nourished in a healthy way and

flourishes in a holy way.

25. Therefore, all the clergy

must hold fast to the sacred

Scriptures through diligent sa-

cred reading and careful study,

especially the priests of Christ

and others, such as deacons and

catechists who are legitimately

active in the ministry of the

word. This is to be done so that

none of them will become ‘‘an

empty preacher of the word of

God outwardly, who is not a lis-

tener to it inwardly” since

they must share the abundant

wealth of the divine word with

the faithful committed to them,

especially in the sacred liturgy.

The sacred synod also earnest-

ly and especially urges all the

Christian faithful, especially

Religious, to learn by frequent

reading of the divine Scriptures

the “excellent knowledge of Je-

sus Christ” (Phil. 3:8). “For ig-

norance of the Scriptures is ig-

norance of Christ.” Therefore,

they should gladly put them-

selves in touch with the sacred

text itself, whether it be

through the liturgy, rich in the

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divine word, or through devo-

tional reading, or through in-

structions suitable for the pur-

pose and other aids which, in

our time, with approval and ac-

tive support of the shepherds

of the Church, are commendably

spread everywhere. And let

them remember that prayer

should accompany the reading

of sacred Scripture, so that God

and man may talk together; for

“we speak to Him when we

pray; we hear Him when we

read the divine saying.”

It devolves on sacred bishops

“who have the apostolic teach-

ing” to give the faithful en-

trusted to them suitable instruc-

tion in the right use of the di-

vine books, especially the New
Testament and above all the

Gospels. This can be done

through translations of the sa-

cred texts, which are to be pro-

vided with the necessary and

really adequate explanations so

that the children of the Church

may safely and profitably be-
come conversant with the sa-

cred Scriptures and be pene-

trated with their spirit.

Furthermore, editions of the

sacred Scriptures, provided

with suitable footnotes, should

be prepared also for the use of

non-Christians and adapted to

their situation. Both pastors of

souls and Christians generally

should see to the wise distribu-

tion of these in one way or an-

other.

26. In this way, therefore,

through the reading and study

of the sacred books “the word

of God may spread rapidly and

be glorified” (2 Thess. 3:1) and

the treasure of revelation, en-

trusted to the Church, may

more and more fill the hearts

of men. Just as the life of the

Church is strengthened through

more frequent celebration of

the Eucharistic mystery, simi-

larly we may hope for a new

stimulus for the life of the Spir-

it from a growing reverence for

the word of God, which “lasts

forever” (Is. 40:8; see I Peter

1:23-25).

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